


It's More About Looks Than Skill

by BastilleWolf



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Light & Reader Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shinigami, Shy Ryuk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-04-30 05:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14490267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BastilleWolf/pseuds/BastilleWolf
Summary: Ryuk finds himself gaining feelings for Light Yagami’s best friend, but she doesn’t know he exists. When he makes the grave mistake of touching her, he makes things a lot more complicated.





	1. Chapter 1

“You sure are skillful with your hands. You’re popular with the girls, aren’t you?” Ryuk commented.

Light continued to cut into the seams of his shirt until the hole was big enough to fit a folded piece of paper from his Death Note in. “That has nothing to do with skill. It’s more about looks than skill.” He paused his work for a moment. “Ryuk, you aren’t popular, are you?”

“Huh??” Ryuk tilted his head at Light’s rudeness. Even from the beginning, the human had intrigued him with the lack of concern he showed towards the Shinigami, while Light knew Ryuk could easily kill him if he ever got bored. Though as much as it fascinated him, he felt like there was no need to be rude. He was a shy Shinigami, after all, who had feelings.

“ _Light!_ ” His mother called from the bottom of the stairs, “ _(Y/N) is here!_ ”

Light noticed Ryuk’s eyes widen ever so slightly and he smirked. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out how much Ryuk liked (Y/N).

The first time the Shinigami had seen her, he’d gotten extremely quiet and had kept his scrutinizing stare on her until she’d left. He hadn’t even bothered to twitch when Light bit into an apple. Ryuk had kept his back turned to him, watching the girl read a magazine on his bed.

She knew nothing about Light being Kira, thus she had no clue Ryuk even existed. And as time flew by, Light knew it started irritating Ryuk more and more. (Y/N) didn’t know he laughed at her jokes even when Light didn’t, or how he always sat next to her when she visited, or how he had tried to innocently suggest that Light should tell her about the Death Note. Of course, Light had been onto his plan immediately.

“I wonder how long you can keep this secret from her. She is your best friend, after all,” Ryuk implied suggestively.

The corners of Light’s lips twitched upwards in silent amusement. “Hm, you’ve told me that many times before. It almost seems as though you have a thing for her, Ryuk.”

Ryuk let out a bark of laughter Light recognized to be a fake one. “Hyuk! If a Shinigami were to fall in love with a human, they must be very stupid.”

“And why is that, Ryuk?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing.” The demonic creature chuckled to himself at Light’s unknowingness. He would not give all the answers to the cocky human. It was more interesting this way.

There was a knock on the door, which made Ryuk’s head turn. “Come in!” Light called out.

“Hey, Light,” (Y/N) greeted as she walked into the room. She immediately got comfortable on his bed, her usual spot. “So, how are you holding up?”

Light’s eyebrow twitched for a moment. _She couldn’t know… Could she?_ “What do you mean?” He decided to ask.

“The exams, of course! What else would be important enough?” She replied incredulously.

He quietly let go of the breath he’d been holding. “Nothing, you’re right. I guess the stress is getting to me,” he chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

But she wasn’t buying it. Her eyes narrowed, and she moved to a sitting position on his bed. “You’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’ve been hiding something from me for a while now. Don’t bother trying to cover it up with some bullshit. I’ve known you for almost my entire life, I know when you’re lying to me. Spill it, Yagami.”

“Hyuk! I told you so,” Ryuk laughed and adoringly patted the oblivious girl on her head. It was quiet for a moment before the Shinigami realized his mistake. “Oh…”

(Y/N) sat frozen on the bed, her eyes wide like a deer’s in headlights. Her shoulders were tense, and she started shaking slightly. “S-Something just touched my head…” She locked her gaze with Light, still too afraid to move.

“Don’t be ridiculous, (Y/N). It must have been a breeze. I’ll close the window for you.” As he tried to walk past her, she grasped his wrist and held him in place.

“Something. Touched. My. Head.” She ground out.

This was an interesting turn of events for Ryuk. All this time he had been so careful not to touch her, and in one moment of carelessness he had given in to these… _feelings_. Even the thought of them made him shiver and he didn’t know if they were good or bad. There were just there, and there was nothing he could do about them.

Light slid his hand into the one that still had his in a death grip, which earned a displeased grunt from Ryuk. “You’re right, (Y/N). I haven’t been completely honest with you.” He closed his eyes and sighed. This could go very wrong, but she would have found out sooner or later anyway. She had gained maximum scores throughout the years as well, she was smart. But how would she take it?

“I am Kira.”

When she remained quiet but didn’t pull her hand away either, he decided to continue. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I just didn’t know how you would react, nor did I want to put you in any danger. I just need you to know that I merely want to improve the world. I don’t kill innocent people, you’ve watched the news. Could you just… please say something?”

Even Ryuk held his breath this time.

“…Okay.”

_‘Okay’? Is that good or bad? Ergh, humans and their incapability to form proper responses. Interesting._

“…I can’t say I support it, Light.” The boy squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the final blow. But it never came. “But I’m not against it either.”

Light’s brows furrowed in confusion as he faced her again. “What do you mean?”

She suddenly stood and walked towards the window. It was already dark outside, and raindrops started to tap against the glass. “Ever since the whole Kira-thing started, I have been in the middle of it all. I understand why you would want to rid of all the bad in the world, but I also understand why it is wrong. I simply… do not have an opinion about it. So, I appreciate you telling me this, but I’ll let you know that I won’t be helping you, nor will I be stopping you.”

Light nodded, and he felt a small part of the weight on his shoulders get lifted.

“Though all of this does not explain what touched my head.”

And there you have it. He almost thought he could’ve gotten away with it, but alas. He shifted towards his desk and pulled out his Death Note from underneath his laptop, and held it out to her.

“What’s this?” She took it from him and Ryuk felt like jumping off a cliff.


	2. Chapter 2

“ _S-Shinigami_ …”

Ryuk blinked at the wide-eyed girl. This wasn’t how he’d expected things to happen. Of course, an outcome similar to this one had crossed his mind, but he’d hoped it would have turned out more… Well, romantic.

Though it wasn’t normal for him to think this way. Shinigami weren’t taught how to form relationships, let alone how to love. It was foreign to them, something they could not understand the worth of. They observed humans from above when the boredom becomes too much to bare and wondered why humans would grieve over something so petty and useless, only for them to walk back up the stairs and return to their gambling game or rotten dinner. Love was a dangerous case, a Shinigami’s despair to save the one they desire could lead to suicide.

When another had told him that Shinigami are the fiercest when it comes to loving someone, he thought nothing of it and had simply chuckled a bit. He now realized he had massively underestimated it.

She hadn’t moved for quite a while now. A part of him wondered if she was going to smack him in her state of shock; though he could easily dodge the blow due to his dematerializing skills, perhaps he’d just let her. Perhaps that would make him come to his senses.

“So they are real…”

“His name is Ryuk. You can only see him if you touch this notebook. He’s been keeping me company ever since I became Kira,” Light explained.

“So… Why is he here?” (Y/N) asked.

“The way I seek justice is through the notebook, it’s also known as a Death Note. If I write someone’s name down in it, they die within forty seconds of a heart attack. I also have the option to specifically chose how they die, but it takes a little longer for it to actually happen. Before I had found it, Ryuk was the original owner of the Death Note. Now he follows me around until I decide to return it to him.”

“Or until I get bored of you,” Ryuk commented.

The girl moved a little bit closer to the Shinigami and inspected him further. She’d never seen anything like him before and it both frightened and excited her. He was something you could specify as the stuff of nightmares, though she found him to have a pleasant voice and seemingly harmless (for now).

“How did you know he was a Shinigami?” Light asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“I remember having discussed the subject in school a few times, it was for a mythology project we had to do.”

Light hummed in response, his eyes following his friend’s fingers as they reached out towards the god of death. They traced across the curves of Ryuk’s features, and he swore he’d seen the Shinigami shiver.

“Hyuk!” Suddenly, Ryuk jumped up, nearly knocking (Y/N) over, and latched upsidedown onto the ceiling. She looked up at him in confusion.

After an awkward silence that could’ve lasted a few minutes, the Shinigami apologized. “I’m shy around girls.”

(Y/N) smiled. She actually smiled. Light hadn’t seen her do that since the first grade. From that point on in time, she hadn’t been the same for some reason. She no longer noticed the bright things in life, instead focusing on everything that’s wrong with her and the world around. It’s why she didn’t stop Light from using the Death Note. She simply knew that he was doing this for the greater good, it’s what she’d told him when the Kira-case went public.

“You don’t have to be shy around me. I don’t bite, I promise. Unless you want me to,” she winked.

The shinigami chuckled before he leaped back down again, a slight blush dusting his pale cheeks. Light wouldn’t have guessed he was even capable of blushing. But it turns out that while being in the possession of the Death Note, he learns new things every day.

  


_**THE FOLLOWING DAY** _

“How’s it going? I don’t think anyone else is in the house right now. Do you wanna play some video games?” Ryuk greeted as Light stepped into his room and sank down on his bed, sighing slightly. “Ah, come on, it’s been a while!”

The teenager paid him no mind whatsoever, and it managed to annoy Ryuk to the fullest. The Shinigami was in no mood to be ignored, he was far too energized by the fact that (Y/N) was able to see him now and that they had hung out for the entire evening, even if it was just to study.

“Are you listening?” For a moment he had hope when Light moved, but all he did was simply walk past the God of death towards his closet. “Hey, Light!”

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Light, don’t ignore me when I’m talking to you or I’ll get mad!”

“HELLOOOOOOO! YOOHOOOOO!”

“ _Listen to me!_ ” Light finally snapped, making Ryuk’s crazy antics falter. “there’s a very strong possibility that there are wiretaps and maybe surveillance cameras hidden throughout my house.”

“Really? But that piece of paper was still in your door, wasn’t it?” Ryuk asked.

“That’s true, but… I left the paper in the door in a way that it would be obvious to anyone entering the room. The real test is the handle.”

“It is?”

“When that door is closed, the door handle automatically returns to a horizontal position and it won’t go any higher than that. But whenever I close the door I adjust it slightly, instead of letting it sit horizontally, I lower it by about 5 millimeters. When I get home and I try to open the door, if the handle is all the way up, I can be fairly certain that someone was in my room. That method alone doesn’t tell me if my door was actually opened, so I put a mechanical pencil lead in place as well,” the teenager explained.

“So what do you do with it?”

“It goes on the hinge; after I close the door I take the pencil lead and rest it on the hinge in such a way that it will break if the door happens to be opened by anyone. Normally I’d take it out myself when I get back home. When I get home from school today, I noticed that the pencil lead was broken.”

“Now that you mention it, I do remember that.”

“First, the door handle, then the lead. I know someone was in there today.”

“You know,” someone from behind them starts, making Light tense up and stop dead in his tracks. “I’ve been in your room plenty of times without you noticing.”

Light sighed and turned to face the person. “If that were the case, Ryuk would’ve told me, wouldn’t you have?” When he looked at the Shinigami in question, however, he found the God of death attempting to avoid eye contact, slightly turned away from him. “Ryuk?”

“I’m sorry, Light,” (Y/N) laughed, “but I thought you were smarter than that. You know Shinigami don’t tell the humans everything. It would ruin their fun. As for the pencil lead, you learned that trick from me.”

Ryuk burst out into a fit of laughter, as Light glared at the girl, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

“Come, I think I’ve teased you enough for today,” she chuckled, “Let’s go to the city. I might have an idea that will help you get out of this mess.”


	3. Chapter 3

“ _Has anyone seen Ryuk around lately?_ ”

“ _Maybe he was serious about losing his Death Note._ ”

“ _It was probably picked up by some human before he could get to it._ ”

“ _No way! Then he’d be stuck there ‘til the end of that human’s life or until the Death Note is destroyed. That could take a while._ ”

“ _Yeah. I can’t picture Ryuk doing something so boring._ ”

“ _But you know what? I heard he was actually carrying two Death Notes._ ”

“ _Seriously? Why would he need two?_ ”

“ _Beats me, I’ll never understand that guy._ ”

“ _Maybe he’s fallen in love with one of those humans._ ”

They all started laughing.

“ _I wouldn’t understand why. Humans are so boring._ ”

“ _Like Ryuk could ever fall in love with someone other than himself._ ”

_“A better question; how could a human ever fall for a guy like him?”_

Their cries of laughter continued to echo, through the realm’s caves and holes and all the way down to the portal of the Human World.

 

“By the way, Ryuk, what about your apples?” Light asked.

“Apples?” The Shinigami gasped, “That’s right, surveillance cameras! Once the apple is in my mouth, no one can see it, but while I’m holding it, it looks like it’s floating!”

“I thought so,” Light commented, “You told me that Shinigami can’t die, so I guess it won’t kill you to stop eating apples for a while...”

“AH- Don’t you think that’s a bit much?! Come on! I never told you this, but apples are to me... what cigarettes and alcohol are to humans. Do you see what I’m saying? I even get withdrawal symptoms.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of symptoms?”

“My body gets all twisted, I do handstands, it’s not pretty!” Ryuk flew upside down to prove his point.

“I don’t need to see that,” Light huffed.

“I know,” Ryuk groaned, twisting body back to normal from his handstand.

“Okay, here’s the thing,” Light explained, “Unfortunately I already gave L the hint that Shinigami love apples, so I just can’t afford to take the risk...”

“...When did you-”

“If it’s so important for you to eat apples, you’ll have to find out where all the cameras are hidden. If you’re lucky, you might find a blind spot where you can eat them without being seen...”

Ryuk grumbled, “Hyuk! I see what you’re trying to do, Light. But it’s not going to work on me. You might be able to manipulate others into your little game, but I’m not that foolish! I can always eat apples outside or at your neighbor’s house.”

Light sighed. He’d hoped his initial plan would’ve done the trick, but now he’d have to use another route. One that might not work either, but if it did, it would give Light quite a few handles that might be useful in the future.

“And what about (Y/N)?” he decided to ask.

After having visited the store, (Y/N) had parted ways from Light and Ryuk, having to head home herself to continue studying.

“What about her?” Ryuk questioned anxiously.

“Well, with the surveillance cameras in my room, you know she won’t be allowed to talk to you anymore. She’ll ignore you for... well, who knows how long the investigation on me will last.”

Though Ryuk didn’t show many emotions, Light knew he had pushed the right buttons. Ryuk knew this too because it had been a long while since a human had last rendered a Shinigami speechless. And it hadn’t been Ryuk that time around.

“I want a date with her.”

Light kept himself from bursting out in laughter. “What?”

“Isn’t that what you humans do? Date? I want you to set up a date for us, once the cameras are gone. It can be in your room, but you’ll have to leave,” Ryuk said.

Light sighed, “Fine. I’ll set up a date with you and (Y/N).”

The Shinigami flew up towards the second level of the house, excitedly announcing, “Yeah! A camera search! Sounds so… _interesting_ …”

 

To act unsuspicious, the teenager had to do what every other stereotypical male teenager would do; look at pictures of women posing in their underwear. Of course, it didn’t affect Light as much. He understood basic sexual cravings, yes, but in reality, he would never bore himself with staring at these pictures. He had better things to do, such as creating his New World. The stash of magazines was just for show, in case of emergency.

Ryuk grumbled a bit at the graphic magazine Light was inspecting. He had quickly figured out that nudity was a thing humans were embarrassed by but also very interested in. He couldn’t quite relate, as he’d never felt the need to take off his clothes or see someone else without them.

The humans in the pictures had a lot of round forms, with bulging chests and buttocks and mostly all with the same size, which made Ryuk wonder if they ever borrowed each other's clothes because they would most likely fit them anyway. They all looked the same to him. People who showed off their bodies because society sees it as pretty, while perhaps in a few years beauty standards will change and they’d have to spend so much time and energy to be able to feel even remotely pleased with themselves again.

He couldn’t help but wonder what (Y/N) would look like, posing like they do in those pictures. She would top any of these models, he thought to himself. They should put her on the cover, on every cover of every magazine. No, he didn’t want that. He wanted no one else to see her like that. He wondered why he would ever look at all the naked ladies in a magazine who all looked the same when he had (Y/N) to look at, when he had (Y/N) to spend time with.

“Ooh- ah, I… have to find the cameras!” Ryuk suddenly realized, snapping out of his daze.          

He flew up and peeked his head in the vent. “I found a camera in the air conditioner!”

“ _Hey, Light! Come on, dinner is ready!_ ” Sayu called from downstairs.

The Shinigami barely noticed Light leave the room. He was too transfixed with his own reflection in the small lens of the second device he discovered. He took a long, good look at himself. Perhaps longer than he’s ever looked in his entire life. The excitement, the butterflies, the fuzziness, they all died down as quickly as they had come.

_How could a girl like her ever fall for a guy like me?_

 

When Light returned to his room, he silently took a seat at his desk, yet didn’t fail to notice the tired and somewhat sad Shinigami sprawled across the sheets on his bed.

“I think that’s it, Light. I found every camera they put in the house. I guess Shinigami get tired when they work hard…” the Shinigami panted. “Now let me explain where they all are. It’s a little bit complicated, so listen up.”


	4. Chapter 4

“ _Hm… It seems like a lot of Shinigami are observing the human world lately… What’s with that anyway?_ ”

“ _It turns out that Ryuk is being kept by a human!_ ”

“ _What’s he thinking?! Seriously?_ ”

“ _He’s a disgrace to the pride of the Shinigami_.”

“ _No, I’m talking about the human who’s keeping Ryuk!_ ”

“ _Who would want him as a pet? A pet’s supposed to be cute!_ ”

They all hollered together as another card was drawn from the stack.

“ _When you’re right, you’re right!_ ”

“ _So, what’s the story of this human anyway? Is it a male or a female?_ ”

“ _Who knows…_ ”

“ _I heard he’d taken an interest in a female but that he’s being kept by a male!_ ”

“ _Funny to know Ryuk’s being kept from getting what he wants, and by a human nonetheless_.”

“ _In that case, I better go take a closer look…_ ”

“ _Oh, boy_.”

 

“Light, hurry up, you don’t want to be late! Oh, do your best!” His mother called out.

“I know you don’t need it, but good luck!” His sister followed with a supportive fist in the air.

“I really don’t see why you two are making such a big deal out of it,” Light sighed as he closed the front gate after him.

At the front gates of the school, (Y/N) was waiting patiently for her best friend to show up and already looked very prepared for the exams with her ‘ _how to pass an exam_ ’ starter kit in her backpack, which included various sorts of vitamins and fruit as well as about five extra pens, just in case the other five ran out of ink all of the sudden. And, of course, the glitter ones.

“You there!” A teacher called out to them right as Light was nearing (Y/N), “The exam will be starting in ten minutes, you better hurry up!”

“I think the teachers might be even more stressed than we are, Light,” she smiled.

Light chuckled, “I wouldn’t be surprised. They have to do this every year.”

Ryuk felt his heart pounding again. Initially, when he still resided in the Shinigami world before his interesting adventure with Light had begun, he had wondered if he actually had a heart. It was a thought that had appeared in his head out of pure boredom and he hadn’t considered it much longer than a second back then, and yet in a moment as simple as this, the thought had crossed his mind again and at the same time been confirmed. _What is this human doing to me?_

“It’s fine. I planned to get here three minutes before the test. I hate waiting. I’m here too early.” Light commented. The teacher looked quite baffled as the duo passed him. Or well, in their case, trio.

“Well well, confident,” Ryuk smirked. The girl winked at him and he felt weird things again.

The room was eerily quiet, the only noise coming from the scribbling of pens, students scratching their heads in confusion and the heavy breathing of the ones who were having something close to a panic attack. The clock ticked onwards, and as Ryuk had expected, Light was already done with his test. Though he stayed in his seat, for he had agreed to wait for his best friend to finish.

Though Ryuk knew she was top of the class, right next to the arrogant boy, he hovered over to see why she was taking so long.

She cursed herself under her breath. She had finished the rest of the test, yet that particular blank spot on her answer sheet got her frustrated. She had never skipped a question, always immediately knowing the answer to something. Yet, she couldn’t recall the solution to this one, though she clearly remembered Light going through the subject with her.

She silently wondered if he had used some sort of witchcraft like the Death Note to make her forget. He was very competitive, after all.

“ _The answer is B_ ,” a voice whispered in her ear, making her jump slightly in her seat. Luckily, no one had noticed.

“What?!” She mouthed angrily.

“The answer is B,” Ryuk repeated. She looked over her shoulder at him, her brows raised. He shrugged, “I’m a Shinigami, I’m not stupid. I checked Light’s answer sheet.”

She had a devilish glint in her eye and smirked at him.

Little did she know, someone had been watching her and her friend from the moment they had walked into the room.

A teacher walked past her.

“You there! Student number 162. Sit properly in your chair!” The teacher said, making her turn in her seat to see who was causing the disruption. Apparently, Light had the same idea.

A boy, someone she had never seen before in this school, was sitting very oddly at his table. It was almost as if he were imitating the stance of a frog. His hair was black with a blueish tint to it, and the strands went in every direction. She also noted that he wasn’t wearing any shoes, nor the proper school attire. He didn’t even spare a glance at the teacher while he silently handed him a folded note and focused his big orbs on her instead. He had a piercing, calculating gaze which made a shiver run down her spine.

She broke the intense staredown and quickly got up to hand her test forms to said teacher. Now that she was at such close proximity to the boy, she noticed he vaguely smelled like a mix of candy and coffee. She spared one more look at him, and his lips quirked up into a small smile at her.

“What was that?” Light questioned, as he caught up with her on the way home.

“What was what?” She asked in return.

“You know what I mean. Why were you eye-fucking that guy?”

She gasped and punched his shoulder, making him laugh. “I was _not_ eye-fucking him, you moron! He just… I don’t know, he gave me weird vibes. Something wasn’t right about him.”

Light hummed as they stopped by her house, “I can agree with you on that. But don’t start worrying about it too much, unless he starts stalking you. I’ll see you tomorrow, (Y/N).”

She waved at him as he turned to continue his way home, and then quickly grabbed the Shinigami’s arm and pulled him back with a strength he hadn’t been expecting from her. Forcing him to drop to the ground, she gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks for saving me from Light’s victorious wrath,” she whispered in his ear.

Letting go of him, she turned away and strode to her front door with a skip in her step, leaving a flustered God of death behind.

He noticed the arrogant human smirking at him.

“Say anything and I will write you in my Death Note, Light,” Ryuk grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone interested in me including L in this love drama? I’ve always been a sucker for love triangles, but if you have different ideas and maybe not include L like that, just let me know!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally here! Sorry for the long wait. I got very busy in our new house and I’ve been too stressed with everything to be able to write something good. This chapter isn’t all too eventful, though a good build up of events. And do let me know if you think L should be added in a love triangle, though perhaps you won’t actually end up with him. It’s just for fun and drama and because L is cute.

(Y/N) held her arms close to her chest in an anxious search for two familiar figures in the crowd. You’d figure they would stand out, a boy with an 8 feet tall God of death hovering behind him between the regular students going about their day. But no, there was no comfort she could latch onto at this moment. And if she were to spot them, she would probably do everything in her power to avoid them anyway.

Her summer had been quite eventful, to say the least. It hadn’t really felt like a true vacation to her, juggling constantly between the stress of Light’s secret ‘hobby’ when the news broadcasted, the inevitable start of her college life and not-all-that-great-friends crying over the phone about how everything was going to change and how they wouldn’t see each other as much anymore. Right, because that’s a first world problem she needed to hear.

This summer had been one of the loneliest in her life, and not because of her lack of trying. Light had cut off nearly all forms of contact with her, ignored her when she called out to him across the street and didn’t even bat an eye when she had accidentally dropped her bag of groceries after tripping over a loose tile on the sidewalk.

And it wasn’t just Light that upset her so much. It was Ryuk as well. He’d turn his head at her when she wasn’t looking. She’d caught him enough times doing it. But the worst thing was that he’d just quickly look away again and mutter something in Light’s ear. She didn’t know if it was gossip, some hateful curses or about a completely different subject. She just wanted to know why. Why they were suddenly acting this way, what she had done to deserve this.

It was right after she had dropped her groceries on the sidewalk and noticed Ryuk quickly glance away from the scene she had caused when she had her first panic attack. Her breaths became shallow, her heart started pumping adrenaline through her veins, she felt like she was going to throw up and all she could think of was how she wanted to run and get away as fast as she could. And so she did.

She ran all the way home, thanked God that her parents were on a trip and broke down crying in the middle of the hallway.

She didn’t know if it had been because she wasn’t eating properly, if it was the stress or just the utter loneliness and feeling of abandonment that had caused the panic attack, but she knew she needed help. So she called up her parents and asked if they could make an appointment with a therapist for her. And they agreed, knowing how hard of a time she’d been having.

 

On the other side of the school’s courtyard stood two figures shadowed by the blossom trees, staring at the girl they had avoided all summer.

“You’re a college student now, that’s kind of exciting! I’m filled with joy,” Ryuk commented.

“You don’t have to be so sarcastic, Ryuk. I already know you’re mad at me,” Light replied plainly. His eyes flickered over your features, noting how your pale complexion and the bags under your eyes almost made you look sickly.

“ _Now for the freshman address, freshman representative Light Yagami_ …”

“Yes,” Light announced his presence and stood from his seat, feeling the eyes of the entire room on him.

“ _Ooh_ , wow,” Ryuk chirped.

Being a freshman representative wasn’t something Light had wanted to be, yet it was an obligation for someone who was top of their class. Schools wanted to show off their best students- Especially this year, because they did not only have one, but _two_ people with perfect scores.

“ _…freshman representative (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)…_ ”

“Yes!” A shaky voice answered, along with the soft screech of a chair sliding back as she stood.

“ _…and freshman representative Hideki Ryuuga.”_

Or _three_ people?

“Oh, uh- here,” a voice nonchalantly called out, and a chorus of gasps and muttering erupted under the array of students. Even (Y/N) reacted a bit surprised, until she noticed it wasn’t _the_ Hideki Ryuuga, the famous pop idol, but someone she vaguely recognized as the guy who had been staring at her so intently at the final exams. Only this time, he was wearing shoes.

 _‘I knew I’d be giving the address with another student apart from (Y/N)… but I never expected this’_ , Light thought. ‘ _I remember him from the exam center, he got into trouble for sitting oddly in his desk… It seemed like he was off in his own world. Until he started staring at (Y/N)…_ ’

(Y/N) was the first to begin with her speech, and she was kind of grateful for it. It meant this would be over sooner and she could go back to her seat and blend in with the other students. Usually, she was quite confident, but when it came to speaking in front of a massive crowd like this, in front of people who were more experienced and most likely far smarter then her, she couldn’t help but get stage fright.

“The student who scores highest on the test is supposed to give the speech, right?” someone in the crowd muttered to his friend.

“I guess all three of them must’ve had the highest scores this year…” the other replied. “I heard they all had perfect scores in all subjects.”

“Seriously?! It’s hard to believe there are actually people like that!”

A few seats back, a girl was blushing profusely in her seat, a sort of look of shock spread across her face. “I think I like the little one on the right…” The girl sitting next to her turned to her with a frown, “What?! You’re so weird Kyoko. Look at how he’s dressed!”

As your speech came to an end, the crowd gave an applause to her great relief. And so, Light started with his. In the middle row of the room, two senior students commented remarkably about the trio.

“Man, these three are total opposites.”

“Yeah…”

“This one looks like a sheltered genius groomed for success his whole life, but the other one, there’s something not right about him… he’s just freaking weird!”

“This guy must be what they call a ‘mad genius’.”

“And the girl… just seems too normal to be standing up there, right? She looks like she can’t deal with the stress up there yet she somehow dealt with getting perfect scores.”

“Maybe she’s secretly a sociopath.”

“One thing I do know for a fact… she’s a lot smarter than you.”

Eventually, the strange figure apparently known as Hideki Ryuuga – not the pop idol – finished his speech and the crowd gave yet another polite applause. (Y/N) sighed in relief, nearly skipping down the steps of the stage towards her seat. She was shaking a little with the adrenaline coursing through her, yet her nerves had not ceased for as she quickly sat down she faced the fact that Light would have to sit next to her.

That is until Hideki Ryuuga buzzed past Light and took the seat next to her, forcing the boy in question to take the seat next to that. She could almost feel the irritation radiating off of him, and it made her smirk a little. Before either of them could start a conversation with you, however, she slipped her earbuds in which she had hid underneath her shirt earlier, knowing the rest of the chit chat on stage would merely be pep talk and other gibberish. She felt Hideki’s owlish stare on her for a little while, before he started up an actual conversation with Light.

When the room burst into a final applause, she got up and was one of the first to leave. “(Y/N)!” she heard through the hum of students. “(Y/N)!?”

She kept on walking, passed Ryuk in the hallway and didn’t even glance back once, though she felt the burning gazes of multiple figures on her back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Change of views. Reader finally meets L and he has a secret he needs to confess to her.

“I didn’t think the ceremony would be so interesting…” Ryuk hummed. Light remained silent as they walked through the school’s doors. His eyes were focused elsewhere, to a figure quite an ends away from him. He knew it would be useless to run after her, as he recalled how relentless her step was when she got mad, plus he would draw too much attention to himself. Attention was not something he needed these days.

He froze as he suddenly noticed a familiar voice call out his name. “You hear that? I think it’s your new friend,” the God of death chuckled.

Hideki – though Light was positive that wasn’t his real name – had informed him of his true identity during the ceremony, after (Y/N) had left. He was L. At least, that’s what he told Light. He could have an endless debate with himself if this was a ruse or not, thus he tried to stick to the facts he currently had and weighed his options.

“Uh, nice meeting you.” He looked like the Hunchback of the Notre Dame, with the way he was standing. Light had the urge to push him, just to straighten his spine. His own back hurt just by looking at it. “No, the pleasure was mine,” he lied instead. L nodded and walked off.

“ _What an amazing car_!” “ _A limousine_?” bystanders commented, as the door of the vehicle was opened. “Well, I’m sure I’ll see you on campus,” L said. “Yeah, take care…” Light replied, quite flabbergasted.

“ _That kid must come from some serious money_.” “ _Plus he’s at the top of the class? Where’s the justice_ …”

‘ _Yeah, where is the justice…_ ’ Light thought to himself.

He watched the car drive off with a nasty feeling in his gut.

 

You had put at least a few feet between yourself and the campus. You were safe, except from the hard gaze you still felt drilling into your back. And apparently from vehicles that go faster than yourself.

A fancy car stopped beside the curb of the school’s yard, right where you were walking. You took a hesitant step back, the immediate thought of someone dragging you in and kidnapping you crossing your mind. The door opened and Hideki stepped out.

“Hi,” he greeted rather nonchalantly. “Uh- Hi,” you responded. He took a small box out of his back pocket and held it out to you. “I had a piece of cake left, but I don’t think I can finish it. I was wondering if you’d like to have it, as I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

You stare at the small box with suspicion. “I presume that hasn’t been in your back pocket for the entire ceremony?”

A corner of his mouth quirks up in amusement. ‘ _Oh, she’s smart_ ,’ he noted gleefully. “Observative. No, I left it in the car. It’s not poisoned, I promise.”

“And I’m supposed to believe your word? When I just met you?”

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll tell you my secret then, if it means I will gain your trust.”

“Your secret? What’s that?”

“I’m L.”

You nearly choke on your own saliva and your eyes widen in apparent shock. Unlike Light, you weren’t someone to fall into the acting part naturally. It took you a lot of energy and gave you a lot of stress, so you usually tried to avoid it. Light, on the other hand, had always attempted to fool people as much as he could without them noticing, merely to excel in the ability to act and lie, if he ever needed it. You understood at the time, as he used to dream about becoming a cop just like his father.

“That’s… interesting,” you finally mustered.

“Interesting?” L questioned, “I presume you’re not a fan of mine, then.” _Is that why she and Light aren’t talking? Because their opinions differ on the Kira case?_ He wondered.

“N-No… Well, I don’t really know if I’m being honest. I can’t say I don’t understand both parties involved in this. The massacres, it’s horrible… yet I can’t help but think that it might make a positive impact on the world.”

He stared at you for a while, long enough to make you uncomfortable. Then suddenly, he smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

“Good,” he said.

“Good?” you questioned in confusion.

“Will you join me in solving this case?”

“Solving it? But I just told you- Hang on, what if I’m Kira? How could _you_ trust _me_?”

“I don’t know if you’re Kira. There’s a 91% chance that you are. But if you’re not, and if what you just told me is true, then you’re in the middle. You haven’t picked a side yet, meaning you’re able to see them both as they are, without a tunnel vision. I know you’re a very smart girl, (Y/N). I could really use you on my team.”

You take a deep breath, too many thoughts racing through your mind. “I-“

“That is, if you don’t mind working with Light.”

_Light? What has that idiot gotten himself into?!_

L continued, “I haven’t officially asked him yet, but I presume he’ll join the cause, seeing as he just gave me a speech about how he’d do anything to stop Kira during the ceremony. It’s unfortunate you missed it. I think you would’ve found it quite amusing.”

“Is it alright if I think about it for a while?” you ponder.

“Of course. You have 24 hours. Meet me at the café down the street tomorrow,” he replied.

You nod, turning your eyes to your hands, which have been fumbling with the box since this whole topic started.

“If it makes any difference, I promise you’ll get as much cake as you want if you join the team.”

You burst out laughing, your nerves probably making things funnier than they really were.

“What’s so funny?” L wondered out loud before he could stop himself.

“Wasn’t that an attempt at a joke?” you questioned, “It seemed as though you intended to lighten the mood.”

“Oh, yeah, I kind of did. Though people usually don’t laugh when I try. It’s why I don’t have friends.”

You smiled, “I’m sure we could be friends, eventually.”

You didn’t think it was possible for his eyes to get bigger, but they did. “Great,” was all he could muster, before he turned around and strode back to the car. Before he got in, his head turned slightly, yet his gaze did not meet yours. “Aren’t you coming?”

Your brows furrowed in confusion.

“I’m giving you a ride home.”

“I suppose I don’t have to tell you where I live, do I?”

“No.”

You let out an airy chuckle as you climb into the vehicle while L gallantly held the door open for you.

 

Light’s hand balled up into a fist, his furious gaze watching the limousine drive off.


End file.
